Drawer slides have long been used as devices to facilitate installation of drawers in cabinets. The typical drawer slide contains two or more metal channel-shaped members which are slidable in a longitudinal fashion. The sliding movement may come about by rollers or ball bearings, or combinations of the same; however, they derive a longitudinal movement and are capable of handling a load as would be anticipated in the particular drawer application. Also of concern in many drawer slide designs is the fact that the load will be, in essence, cantilevered well forward of the mounting points of the drawer slide itself.
Thus, it has arisen that numerous drawer slide designs have evolved over the years. These designs have incorporated metal and plastic components for the most part. The metal and plastic componentry of such slides has been integrated to the point that the prior art has made it virtually impossible to separate the different components of drawer slide products for the purpose of recycling.
The prior art evolved in this fashion for the reason that the load requirements of the drawer slide product have both a lateral and vertical component. For instance, the drawer slide must stop travel of the drawer in both the opening and closing directions. When the drawer is carrying a load which is added to the load of the drawer and the drawer slide assembly, the opening or closing force which is asserted upon the components required to stop the drawer movement can be significant.
Most of the prior art utilizes stopping elements which combine plastic materials with the metal construction of the drawer slide. These materials must be fastened adequately to the channel elements of the slide so as to prevent disengagement during the stopping process.
Other prior art is known where the drawer slide is manufactured in such a way that one of the last operations is the forming of a tab on one of the channels which prevents, without great effort and deformation of the tab, removal of any of the plastic pieces associated with the slide function. Such impediments to removal greatly reduce the inclination of individuals to recycle the components of the slide for the reason that the disassembly process requires great effort and/or special tools.
In addition to the foregoing, there are other components of the typical drawer slide which integrate plastics with metal channel construction. For instance, stay-closed features which keep the slide in a closed position may comprise a rubber grommet or "peanut" which provides a surface which can be gripped by elements of the drawer slide channel. Fastening of these elements to the drawer slide channel construction by means of riveting, gluing or staking prevents their separation from the drawer slide at the time it is removed from service.
There are other components of drawer slide construction, such as ball retainer rollers and the like, which are prohibited from segregation for recycling purposes either owing to the complexity of the segregation of other elements of the drawer slide which are mechanically affixed to the channel pieces, or they themselves have been affixed in such a way as to prohibit easy removal.
There has been a longstanding history of shortsightedness in the drawer slide industry with respect to recycling. As a result, the present invention overcomes these shortcomings by comprehensively designing into the drawer slide product componentry which can be easily installed, function according to the anticipated requirements, and thereafter, once the product is removed from service, be segregated from the metallic recyclable components.